Thursday, January 25, 2007

I received the following transition training workshop information from Martin Richardson of Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, PA. They will be conducting a series of free workshops, called Return to Honor, aimed at helping returning veterans and their families return to peaceful life following service.

All Return to Honor programs were designed as portable containers and can be conducted where needed. The Freedoms Foundation Staff and Return to Honor program director, Martin Richardson (mrichardson@ffvf.org) will be happy to assist with planning a Return to Honor program in your local area.

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Additional details:

Upcoming Workshops

February 2-4, 2007FREE 3-Day Reintegration Workshop for Veterans and Their Families

RETURN TO HONOR is a three-day intensive, cognitive and experiential reintegration training designed by “those who have been there”. It is particularly geared to those who are suffering from the mental and emotional trauma of war including combat stress and focused upon their reintegration as healthy, productive members of the service/society.What I wanted and needed when I returned is the following; I just didn't know it then.• Someone to listen to my truth• A way to process what I was denying• Direction, where to go, what to do and how to continue• Someone to speak the truth; my life is not the same and never will be• A place to acknowledge what I was feeling• How to communicate what I was feeling to family and friends• Integrating who I was before I left, who I was during these events and who I am nowReturn to Honor is a process from which to move through the experience for both the veteran and their family with other veterans. Return to Honor offers understanding, coping skills, re-alignment, and a renewed sense of purpose and mission.

Location: Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, PA

For more details and/or to register for either of these programs, go to www.freedomandhonor.org; contact Martin Richardson at 610-717-9977 cellOr at the Freedoms Foundation 610-933-8825 x241.

Objective of Return to Honor Programs: The Return to Honor programs are conducted by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, (501c3) to support military troops in making healthy transitions after combat duty to maintain service readiness for active duty and return reservists and veterans to productive civilian life. Return to Honor will also provide on-going support mechanisms while collaborating with existing services.

Issue Addressed: Combat duty places extreme demands on the mind, body, senses, and emotions of military personnel. Prepared with hundreds of hours of training, the intensity and realities of war present a multitude of challenges which only become “real” in-theatre. These realities can create readjustment issues upon return such as the constant state of heightened alert, coping with killing, the deaths of comrades and innocent civilians as well as changes in family structures and roles. These and many other issues often do not appear until 60-90+ after returning home.

Return to Honor is a three-day intensive, cognitive and experiential reintegration training designed by a military therapist and conducted by “those who have been there” which includes education and integration with the family. Return to Honor is to be conducted several months after return to avoid combat stress and readjustment issues from developing into PTSD. The intensity of the military persons experience equally needs to be addressed by an intensive period of readjustment/decompression. Specifically, Return to Honor provides such a forum. Return to Honor was designed with a deep knowledge and understanding of the subject area, real world experience and expertise in a variety of modalities. The training integrates information, models and exercises which reduce the impact -- “trauma” experienced. Strategic bio-energetics techniques and coping skills are presented in a hands-on manner in conjunction with the groups’ dynamics to address the physical and emotional needs of each participant. These needs can range from inappropriate reactions set off by “triggers”, rage, loss of mission and values to employment and family tensions. Each participant is supported by an almost one-to-one ratio of veterans with in-theatre experience.

This workshop should not be considered therapeutic in the traditional sense nor is it designed to replace such services. However, the nature, time commitments as well as the accessibility of such traditional services fail to address the initial extreme impact of combat duty as well as are often conducted by those who have not be in-theatre.

Implementation: Return to Honor can be implemented in a number of ways. Return to Honor programs are conducted on the Freedoms Foundation main campus in Valley Forge PA. Additionally, programs can be supported around the country at alternative locations and/or on a military base. Due the intimate nature of the subject matter private settings provide an extra measure of safety and confidentiality for the participants.

Costs: The cost of the workshop is free to veterans and their families. The costs to conduct the Return to Honor initial 3-day program will vary depending on location, meals & lodgings and number of participants. Costs for strictly bring trainers to a site can be provided. The Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge is seeking funding through private corporate donations, state funding and from the VA/DOD as well as working with direct funding by the military base. Coordination of efforts with a specific military base/veterans organization brings critical value propositions to the funding raising efforts. Donations are welcome by all and are a charitable donation. Marketing and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

While a wide variety of events can trigger what's called post-traumatic stress disorder, this PTSD blog focuses solely on the combat-related variety.
As a new generation of warriors returns to civilian life and seeks out resources, PTSD Combat is here to help.

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Upcoming Events

March 4, 2010 in DeKalb, IL - Northern Illinois University Veterans Club hosts its first-ever community Military Benefits/ Informational Fair, 12:00 to 4:30 p.m. Ilona is slated to be the guest speaker.

Considerable Quotes

"The first shamans earned their keep in primitave societies by providing explanations and rituals that enabled man to deal with his environment and his personal anguish. Early man, no less than we, dealt with forces that he could not understand or control, and he attempted to come to grips with his vulnerablity by trying to bring order to his universe." -- Richard Gabriel in No More Heroes

"War stories end when the battle is over or when the soldier comes home. In real life, there are no moments amid smoldering hilltops for tranquil introspection. When the war is over, you pick up your gear, walk down the hill and back into the world." -- OIF vet John Crawford in The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell

"After wars' end, soldiers once again become civilians and return to their families to try to pick up where they left off. It is this process of readjustment that has more often than not been ignored by society. -- Major Robert H. Stretch, Ph.D in Textbook of Military Medicine: Vol. 6 Combat Stress

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